


Twintuition

by Captain Natasha Riker-Troi (textsfrompicard)



Series: The Adventures of Natasha Riker-Troi [3]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek - Various Authors, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Titan
Genre: Evil Twins, F/M, Family Reunions, Family Secrets, Gen, Kidnapping, Minor Violence, Rescue, Ro Laren cameo, Twins, Uncle-Niece Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:21:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24427921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/textsfrompicard/pseuds/Captain%20Natasha%20Riker-Troi
Summary: In which Tasha makes the acquaintance of her Uncle Thomas after a diplomatic adventure turns into a harrowing experience. The main story takes place during the latter half of May 2388, and the epilogue takes place in late July 2388.
Relationships: Beverly Crusher/Jean-Luc Picard, Joakal I'lium/Elana E'shala, William Riker/Deanna Troi
Series: The Adventures of Natasha Riker-Troi [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732120
Comments: 14
Kudos: 14
Collections: Star Trek Modern Novelverse Fanfic





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is technically a sequel to the TNG novel Guises of the Mind, but it still stands on its own as a discrete story. You might appreciate it more if you read the novel first, but it is by no means required, especially since I review most of the important events from the novel in the first chapter. I also make reference to the events of the TNG novels Imzadi II, Takedown, the Destiny trilogy, and Armageddon’s Arrow, and the Titan novel Sight Unseen.

Beahoram I’lium gazed skeptically at the Yridian seated across from him. “You’re absolutely certain of this information?”

“Yes, indeed,” the Yridian hissed. “As I told your accomplice here, your brother intends to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of his coronation and of Capulon IV’s admission to the Federation by inviting the Starfleet ships Enterprise and Titan to join the festivities. Picard and Troi will be there, the ones who foiled your plans those many years ago. And they will have their offspring with them.”

Beahoram and his fellow countryman-in-exile, Benget Marta, looked at each other for a few moments, as if communicating silently. Then Benget spoke:

“And just how are we supposed to make use of this? Neither of us may set foot upon the surface of Capulon IV, on pain of death.”

“I don’t deal in tactics or problem-solving, just information,” the Yridian said irritably. “How you make use of this information is entirely up to you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have another appointment to keep.”

The Yridian ambled away, leaving Beahoram and Benget alone with their dilemma.

“I must admit,” said Benget, “I find it difficult to envision how we will be able to enact your revenge. This information will not do us much good if we cannot make use of it.”

“We _must_ make use of it,” Beahoram said fiercely as he banged his fist on the table, spittle flying from his mouth. “I _must_ have my revenge!”

“Yes, of course,” Benget said patiently. “But we must be smart about this. We already know there will be at least two Federation ships in orbit around the planet. We must assume that security will be very tight. It will be virtually impossible for us to do anything ourselves, but perhaps we could send a proxy?”

Beahoram smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. The wheels were already turning in his twisted mind. “Yes, perhaps…”

******************************

King Joakal I’lium, thirtieth of that name, was having difficulty pinning down the source of his unease.

“Just go to sleep, darling,” mumbled his wife, the Queen Elana of the house E’shala, from where she lay curled up on her side of the bed. “You want to be well rested when Jean-Luc and the others arrive in the morning.”

“I know,” said Joakal, smiling gently as he ran his fingers through her graying golden hair. “But I cannot ignore what my senses are telling me. Something is afoot.”

“Not if you wash them before our Starfleet friends get here.”

Joakal was frozen for a moment, until the jest finally pierced his distracted mind and he began to laugh uproariously. “You always know how to lift my spirits, Elana.”

“I wish I knew how to make you go to sleep.”

Joakal laughed harder. “All right, point taken.” He rearranged himself until he was spooning his wife in his arms. He huddled up against her, kissing the back of her head softly. “Good night, my dearest one.”

“Good night, my beloved.”

******************************

The family materialized in three shimmering columns on the surface of Capulon IV in the glittering golden daylight. The other family had already arrived and was standing off to one side of the transporter pad, waiting for them. The adults embraced each other in a spontaneous yet highly coordinated four-way group hug, while the two children regarded each other with silent curiosity.

“It’s been too long,” said Commander Deanna Troi, pulling away from the group hug at last.

“Indeed it has,” said Captain Jean-Luc Picard as he composed himself and straightened his unifrom in what had long since become a thoroughly unconscious action. He now regarded the diminuative individual standing beside Commander Troi. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to someone?”

Deanna smiled as she placed a hand on her almost seven-year-old daughter’s shoulder, who had shyly wrapped herself around her mother’s leg when Picard had pointed her out. “This is Natasha Miana Riker-Troi. And _you_ must be René Jacques Robert François Picard.”

Tasha started to giggle. René scowled. “How come my name’s so funny?”

“It isn’t,” said Tasha, still giggling. “It’s just really long.”

“Well, so is yours!”

“Well, yours is longer!”

“Children, stop fighting,” said Beverly Crusher firmly. “We are here as representatives of Starfleet and the Federation, and the two of _you_ are here strictly on the condition that you will be on your best behavior. Now, are you agreed that you will refrain from bickering or any unseemly behavior during our visit?”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Beverly fluffed her son’s hair and exchanged smiles with Troi, Riker, and Picard.  
Admiral Riker smiled back at the group and gestured toward the palace. “Shall we proceed?”

The six of them made their way to the palace for their appointment with the King.

******************************

Tasha was utterly blown away by the interior of the palace. She had never seen anything of such sheer size, not even when she first saw the viewscreen on Titan’s bridge (although she had been smaller then, so it wasn’t a direct comparison). One of the King’s servants led them down a massive corridor with walls and floor of a strangely iridescent greenish-black stone. At the end of the corridor was a set of double doors, which were opened by two more servants as the Picards and Riker-Trois approached. They swung wide open to reveal the King’s audience chamber.

Tasha gasped. The room was even bigger than the corridor! The ceilings were at least twice as tall, and the walls four times as far apart. Upon the walls hung several brightly colored tapestries, and nestled in the wall sconces were numerous vases displaying many and varied flowery bouquets.

“They’ve spruced up the place,” Tasha heard her mother whisper to Captain Picard as they approached the dais at the far end of the room. Upon the dais sat two thrones made of the same greenish-black stone from which the walls were made, and upon the thrones sat the King and Queen of Capulon IV. They wore respectively a tunic and gown of crimson and gold, and the King wore a triple-tiered crown upon his head and a predatory bird made of rubies and gold suspended from a thick golden chain around his neck.

Midway up the dais, to the left of the King and Queen, stood a young man with a gold circlet upon his head and a crimson-and-gold predatory bird stiched upon his raiment, and to their right stood two identical twin girls with golden curls, one clothed in a red dress, the other purple.

King Joakal rose from his seat and strode forward to greet his guests. “Welcome back to Capulon IV, Captain Picard. We are honored that you have once again graced Our planet with your presence.”

“We are likewise honored to be your guests,” said Captain Picard. “But you should really be addressing Admiral Riker. He is the ranking officer in our group.”

Joakal raised his eyebrows as he appraised Riker. “You were Jean-Luc’s subordinate last time we met, if I recall. The God has indeed smiled upon you.”

“Indeed he has.” Riker smiled and gestured to his wife. “You remember Commander Deanna Troi?”

“Of course.” Joakal smiled and bowed his head respectfully to Troi. “It would be difficult to forget the person responsible for Our good fortune.”

Troi blushed a brilliant scarlet. “I hardly acted alone,” she protested.

“No, but Mother Veronica has told Us a great deal about the lessons you taught her, in both telepathy and self-acceptance. You made it possible for the two of you to successfully reveal my brother’s duplicity. We would not sit upon the throne today without you.”

Joakal turned slightly away from them and reached an arm out to the Queen, who gracefully descended from her throne to take it. “You all remember my wife, the lovely Queen Elana?”

There was a chorus of assents and many bows and curtsies. “I think I was the only one of us four who didn’t make either of your acquaintances the last time we were here,” said Beverly. “But I’m honored to finally meet you. I’m Doctor Beverly Crusher, chief medical officer of the Enterprise.”

“We are honored to make your acquaintance as well,” said Elana, inclining her head in her direction. “Allow Us to introduce you to Our children.” She gestured to the trio still upon the dais, who descended to meet them. “This is Our eldest and heir, the Crown Prince Jean-Luc I’lium. And these are Our daughters, Princess Deanna and Princess Veronica.”

The royal offspring bowed and curtsied to the Starfleet officers, who returned the gestures, Picard and Troi considerably flustered as they did so. “Allow _us_ to introduce you to _our_ children,” said Riker, smiling. “This is my and Commander Troi’s daughter, Natasha Riker-Troi. And this is Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher’s son, René Picard.”

René and Tasha bowed and curtsied, respectively, to Joakal and Elana. “A pleasure to make your acquaintances, Your Majesties,” piped Tasha, who had read and been read enough fairy tales in her short life to know the proper way to address royalty.

Joakal and Elana beamed, delighted with the polite manner these small children exhibited. _The girl has such a lively, curious mind_ , Elana thought to Joakal. _Her presence feels almost like a beam of sunlight._

Joakal sent a mental brush of agreement across her mind, then he and she bowed and curtsied to Rene and Tasha in return. “And yours as well, Natasha and René,” the King said.

“Well,” he addressed the group at large, “if you are not too tired from your journey, the Queen and I would be delighted to show you what the Little Mothers have accomplished since you last saw them. And I know Mother Veronica wants to show you her psychic training academy.”

Troi smiled. “I’m eager to see what Mother Veronica has been able to achieve with her talents.”

“As am I,” agreed Picard.

“So be it,” said the King. “If you will all follow me?”

******************************

The Capulon IV Psychic Training Academy was located adjacent to the home of the Little Mothers, and both were beside a lake in the middle of a stand of woods behind the palace. Mother Veronica and Mother Julian greeted them warmly upon their arrival. “It’s so lovely to see you again, Deanna,” Mother Veronica said, embracing her erstwhile comrade-in-psionic-arms. She looked between Troi and Riker with great satisfaction. “I remember from our effort to contact Riker’s mind from our prison cell how strong your bond was, even in a latent state. I’m glad to see it has only strengthened with time.”

Riker and Troi looked at each other, smiling. “So are we,” Deanna said. She gestured to her daughter. “This is our daughter, Tasha. Tasha, this is Mother Veronica.”

Tasha smiled and waved up at Mother Veronica. “Why are you called Mother?” she asked curiously.

“Because I am a caretaker,” Mother Veronica explained. "Mother Julian and I, and the other Little Mothers, consider it our solemn duty to care for all the unwanted and neglected children of the galaxy. We shelter and cherish them, and give them a loving home which they would not otherwise have.”

Tasha looked up at her own mother, then back at Mother Veronica. She nodded in understanding. “That makes sense.”

Mother Veronica smiled at the warm, loving glow she felt emanating from Troi’s heart. She was reminded strongly of her own mother, who had sacrificed her life to ensure that her telepathically gifted daughter would have a life and a home with the Little Mothers, safe from the intolerant inhabitants of Perrias VII. It was her fervent belief that every child deserved to be loved in that fashion, and she and Mother Julian were honored to be able to provide that kind of love for all the Capulonii children who were in need of it.

The two nuns led the Picards and Riker-Trois on a tour of their facilities, during which they encountered two more old acquaintances from their previous mission: the former Chief of the Council of Elders, Aklier Ti’Kara, and a former palace kitchen servant, Tymlan Krai. Both had aided Beahoram in his scheme to usurp Joakal’s rightful place on the throne, and both had chosen to devote their lives to the service of the Little Mothers rather than accept exile from Capulon IV. They were thriving in their new positions, and Aklier especially derived great pride from his duties. 

Aklier had once harbored profound guilt over being forced to sacrifice his daughter to the now-abolished law against ‘imperfections’ (having been born blind and deaf, she had fallen under that category), as well as his part in helping Beahoram kidnap and imprison his twin brother Joakal. The birth of a twin had also been one of the ‘imperfections’ which were forbidden under the law, and since he was born second, Beahoram had been given to one of the palace guards, with express orders to take him to the crypt beneath the temple, where he would be ‘returned to the God’. However, the guard had taken Beahoram home to raise him instead, and Beahoram had grown up with an overriding sense of hatred for his birth parents, and especially his brother, whom Beahoram perceived as living the life _he_ should have led. By seeming chance, Aklier encountered Beahoram while on a trip to the docks on the western coast. He arranged to meet the young dock worker who bore such a strong resemblance to the crown prince, and they hatched a plan whereby Beahoram would impersonate Joakal and take his place as King of Capulon IV. 

Beahoram’s plan also entailed stripping Joakal’s mind and memories from him, taking from him everything that Beahoram believed should have been his. When the King is coronated, a ceremony is performed in which his psychic potential is unlocked, granting him full telepathic powers and elevating him to ‘ _Absolute_ ’. The King is believed to be ‘God-embodied’ when this occurs, as the telepathic powers that were common to all Capulonii in the planet’s ancient past (and are now, twenty years after Joakal’s coronation, becoming common again) are believed to be a gift from the God, referred to by the Capulonii as the gift of ‘Mind-share’. Beahoram also planned to turn away the Enterprise-D, which was on its way with the treaty that, when signed by the soon-to-be-coronated King, would make Capulon IV a full member of the Federation.

What Beahoram was not aware of, however, was that Joakal had invited the Little Mothers to Capulon IV, and they were coming with the Enterprise in order to establish one of their houses for the care of unwanted children. Joakal also planned to abolish the law that killed Aklier’s daughter and robbed Beahoram of his rightful life as a royal prince. But Beahoram’s mind was so twisted by his need for vengeance against his brother that he refused to believe in his good intentions. All seemed lost for Joakal, and would have been, were it not for Counselor Troi and Mother Veronica. They were able to uncover Beahoram’s scheme and reveal the identity of the rightful King of Capulon IV, and Joakal was subsequently installed as King and elevated to _Absolute_. 

In addition to Aklier and Tymlan, the head of the guard of Aklier’s House, Benget Marta, aided Beahoram in his plot. He had chosen exile, along with Beahoram. Neither of them had been seen or heard from since.

While the adults chatted and reminisced about old times, René and Tasha were permitted to play with the other children down by the lake. The Capulonii children were immensely excited and curious about the visitors from the stars, and René and Tasha were more than eager to share their stories from the Enterprise-E and the Titan, attempting to outdo each other every step of the way.

“It’s true,” Tasha insisted. “Mommy and I were kidnapped by aliens from another subspace dimension. They were trying to learn how to survive in our universe so they could take it over. But Daddy and Auntie Christine stopped them, and rescued us.”

“What was the other dimension like?” asked a Capulonii girl.

“It was.. sort of wobbly,” said Tasha. “Like being underwater, only we weren’t underwater. It’s hard to explain.”

“That’s nothing,” said René, determined to relate a more exciting adventure than Tasha. “One time the Enterprise found a ship that had traveled through _time_ , to the past from the future, and they wanted to prevent the interplanetary war that almost destroyed their civilization in the future. We got to meet actual time travelers!”

“Well, Daddy got to meet noncorporeal aliens that looked like giant floating heads,” argued Tasha. “He did diplomacy with them, and successfully established long-term diplomatic relations with them when no one else could— not even _your_ daddy.”

“Well, my daddy’s the captain of the Federation flagship!”

“Well, my daddy outranks yours!”

They continued arguing for several minutes as the Capulonii children watched, understanding very little of the referenced events but transfixed by the debate. Finally Tasha called for a halt. “We’ll never settle who the superior explorer is by fighting,” she said. “Let’s have a race. Whoever can run from here to the end of the dock and back the fastest will be dubbed the Supreme Explorer of the Galaxy.”

“Deal!” said René. They lined up side by side, facing the dock, the other children forming into two lines along their course. One of the Capulonii boys counted them down. “Three, two, one— _go!_ ”

René and Tasha took off, running as fast as their little legs could take them. They raced neck and neck down the hill to the dock, neither of them quite managing to get the upper hand. They ran the length of the dock, reaching the end—

At first the Capulonii children thought it was the sunlight glinting off the water that made their spacefaring guests seem to sparkle. But the sparkling effect continued to increase, and when it faded, there was no sign of their new friends anywhere!

They looked at each other in confusion, not certain what had just transpired. “Somebody go get Mother Julian,” one of the children said. The boy who had counted down the race obeyed, sprinting up the hill to where the nuns were gathered with the Starfleet officers.


	2. Chapter 2

René and Tasha found themselves in a windowless, featureless gray room. There was a sink in one corner, a toilet in another, and in the wall between them there was something that looked like a food slot above a narrow shelf which one could only assume was intended as a sleeping space.

“Where are we?” asked Tasha.

“I don’t know,” said René. He reached out and touched the humming force field which separated them from the rest of what appeared to be some sort of storage space. “Ow!” He jerked back suddenly as the force field shocked him.

“ _Do not touch the force field_ ,” came a dull male voice from overhead.

Tasha scowled at the ceiling. “Who are you? What ship is this? Where are you taking us?” she demanded.

“How do you know we’re on a ship?” asked René.

“I can feel the warp core vibrating through the deck plates,” said Tasha. She tilted her head, listening carefully. “This one doesn't sound as good as Titan’s. I don’t think the chief engineer’s been taking very good care of it.”

“ _This ship is my own, and I treat her well_ ,” came the voice again, this time sounding a touch more irritated.

“Where are you taking us?” repeated Tasha insistently.

“ _To my client._ ”

“Who’s your client?”

“ _That is not your concern._ ”

“I think it _is_ our concern if we’re being kidnapped,” argued Tasha. “What does he want with us?”

“ _He did not communicate his intentions to me. However, he did make it clear that he wants you to arrive alive and in one piece. I cannot guarantee that state will continue if you **keep asking POINTLESS QUESTIONS!**_ ”

The stranger’s outburst was followed by a crackling sound, then silence. René and Tasha looked at each other. 

“I’m scared,” said René, his lower lip trembling.

“Don’t worry,” said Tasha, sounding more confident than she felt. “Titan and the Enterprise will find us.”

“But what if we’re cloaked, or this ship is faster than them, or—”

“ _Don’t worry_ ,” repeated Tasha firmly. “This is what they _do_.”

“This?”

“The impossible.”

******************************

“This is impossible,” said Riker through gritted teeth as he gripped the back of his chair at the head of the table. “They couldn’t have just _disappeared_.”

Back on Capulon IV, the search was not going well. King Joakal had ordered all ships in orbit and on the surface to be temporarily impounded and searched meticulously for René and Tasha. Unfortunately, there was a higher volume of ships in orbit and in spacedock than usual, due to the impending festivities, so the search was proceeding very slowly despite having multiple security teams from both the Titan and the Enterprise on the case. Both Starfleet vessels were also using their planetary sensors to scan Capulon IV for non-Capulonii lifesigns, which would take several hours to complete despite all having nonessential and most essential power diverted to the task. The senior staff from both ships were now having a joint meeting via holo-presence in order to discuss their rapidly dwindling options.

“ _Is there any evidence of the presence of a cloaked ship?_ ” asked Captain Picard. His holographic avatar was pacing around the table, wearing a figurative hole in the carpet as well as on everyone’s nerves, although no one dared to say a word, given the current situation. Even under normal circumstances, one does not simply tell Captain Picard to ‘stop pacing’.

“That was the first thing I looked for,” said Tuvok, as his counterpart on the Enterprise-E, Lieutenant Aneta Šmrhová, shook her head. “But we know how to detect Romulan and Breen cloaking devices, and both powers are aware of that. Additionally, neither of them has any conceivable motive for disrupting our activities here.”

“You could just say ‘kidnapping’,” said Troi suddenly, speaking for the first time since the mass gathering had commenced. She had thus far failed to detect the empathic presence of her daughter anywhere on or around the planet, although the abnormally high stress levels of just about everyone in the immediate vicinity were not helping matters. She was sitting across from Tuvok now, and the look she gave him could have cut through solid duranium. “You don’t have to euphemize it.”

“It was not my intention to euphemize anything,” said Tuvok calmly. “I share your concern, Counselor.”

“Do you? _Do you really??_ ”

“ _This is getting us nowhere_ ,” said Commander Worf’s holographic avatar. “ _I agree with Commander Tuvok that neither the Breen nor the Romulans have any reason to even be here, never mind to kidnap the children of and antagonize several of the Federations most prominent Starfleet officers. Therefore, we need to look elsewhere for motivation._ ”

“ _Knowledge of motivation is going to be pretty darn useless without knowledge of location_ ,” said Beverly irritably.

“ _Motivation might very well lead us to location. We need to have somewhere to start from._ ”

Two virtually simultaneous pings occurred just then, interrupting the meeting. “Planetary scans are complete,” said Tuvok. “No non-Capulonii lifesigns present.”

“ _Ditto,_ ” said Lieutenant Šmrhová. “ _No sign of them on the planet._ ”

“Could their lifesigns be masked somehow?” asked Captain Vale. “I mean, assuming they are in fact still on the planet. Someone could be using a bio-sign inhibitor, like Kyle Riker did on Delta Sigma IV.”

“ _Joakal informs me that he has not yet received any ransom demands of any kind,_ ” said Captain Picard. “ _If they were being held—_ ” his voice wavered momentarily, then he composed himself and continued, “ _if political terrorists or the like were holding them on the planet, then we would have certainly heard something from them by now. The fact that we haven’t heard anything tells me that the kidnappers, whoever they are, did not intend to keep them on or near the planet._ ”

Riker was about to suggest assigning even more teams to search the remaining ships, requesting civilian volunteers and volunteers from other departments if necessary, but had become distracted when Vale referenced his father’s efforts to elude him on Delta Sigma IV. The father had led the son on a not-so-merry chase across a planet whose society was collapsing, and once he’d found him, had dragged him from place to place to put out fires and do good deeds out of the elder Riker’s sense of guilt at having played a part in how things had gotten so out of hand on the planet. Kyle had commandeered a flyer, over Will’s strenuous objections, and then he’d pointed it in the direction of—

Riker sat bolt upright. “Have you checked the magnetic poles?” he asked suddenly.

“The poles?” Šmrhová and Tuvok asked simultaneously, momentarily taken aback. Then Tuvok’s eyes widened. “Of course. I should have thought of it myself.” He immediately bent to the task, working furiously at his console.

“ _Can someone fill me in?_ ” asked Šmrhová.

“My father used Delta Sigma IV’s magnetic field to hide his stolen flyer from the Enterprise’s scanners so he could change direction without detection,” said Riker. “If they didn’t have a cloak, maybe they—”

“Found it,” said Tuvok. “There appears to have been a small vessel in the vicinity of the northern magnetic pole approximately twelve hours ago.”

Troi leaned forward. “Where did it go?” she asked with the desperation of a drowning woman clinging to a lifeline.

“They departed from the far side of the planet relative to where Enterprise and Titan were positioned at the time,” he said. “There is an ion trail leading to the Blanchard asteroid belt, where it abruptly disappears.”

“Helm, set course to the asteroid belt,” declared Riker with renewed confidence. He turned to Picard. “You should continue operations here. We’ll have better luck finding them if we cover more ground.”

“ _Who am I to argue with a member of the admiralty?_ ” Picard waggled his eyebrows in amusement, filled with renewed hope at the newly discovered lead. “ _Go with the Capulonii's God, Will. Picard out._ ”

The holo-avatars of the Enterprise-E crew vanished as Titan’s crew rose from the table and applied themselves with renewed effort to the task of locating their missing children.

******************************

Deanna Troi had never felt more frustrated and helpless than at that moment. Titan’s science and tactical officers were currently concentrating all their efforts on finding Tasha and René, and Troi still could not sense her daughter anywhere in the vicinity. Captain Vale had quite literally had to order her to leave the bridge and get some rest, making the unfortunately correct point that there was nothing Troi could do that wasn’t already being done, and that she might as well try to get some rest. Vale did not have the authority to issue the same order to Admiral Riker, however, so he was still in his office on Deck 2, doing what he could to coordinate their efforts.

After leaving the bridge, Troi had first gone to her office instead of directly to her quarters, hoping to bury herself in work. But one look at the walls, with Tasha’s drawings plastered over every square inch, told her she wouldn’t have a hope in hell of concentrating on anything else.  
So now she was in her quarters, as Vale had originally ordered, looking at Tasha’s toys scattered about the floor. 

_This is hopeless,_ she thought to herself. _How am I supposed to ‘get some rest’ when my baby has made her presence known everywhere I look?_

It had taken no small amount of effort for Troi to bring her daughter into the world. The genetic incompatibilities (among other things) that had complicated hers and Riker’s efforts to conceive a child had caused one miscarriage and nearly caused another. Dr. Ree had informed her and Will in no uncertain terms that their child would not survive to term, and he would have to terminate the pregnancy in order to prevent Deanna’s almost certain death from the complications that would arise from a second miscarriage. She had told him where he could stick that idea, despite all available knowledge and common sense telling her otherwise. There had been no logical reason for her to continue with a doomed pregnancy, but she simply could not bear the thought of losing another child. It didn’t matter to her that her child did not have long to live. She was going to protect that child with her dying breath, and it seemed that she would have to do just that, until the Caeliar-ex-machina had swooped in at literally the last possible moment to heal not only her child but also the damage to the rest of her reproductive system, allowing her to have more children in the future if she so wished. It had seemed almost like a miracle to her and Will at the time, and when Tasha was born just five and a half months later, it had felt like a miracle all over again.

Now it seemed as though her life was buffering, her thoughts locked in an endless loop circling through all the events of her daughter’s life and unable to proceed beyond the last time she’d seen her on Capulon IV, laughing merrily as she ran off to play with the other children. She could not permit herself to feel the joy that normally filled her heart at the very thought of her little girl, lest the pain and fear associated with her disappearance follow through and overwhelm her.

_You’d think that being an empath I would understand what being a mother feels like before actually becoming one,_ she thought wearily. _But there’s just no substitute for experience. I became a hostage to fate the moment my first child was conceived. My happiness and well-being are irrevocably intertwined with hers, and they always will be._

The sound of the door chime interrupted her melancholy musings, and Will Riker strode in. He looked around in the dim light until he spotted his wife by the window. “I thought Vale told you to get some sleep.”

Troi smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. “You don’t sound surprised that I’m not.”

Will chuckled humorlessly. “Let’s just say I know my wife.”

They stood together in silence, holding each other close. Deanna rested her head against her husband’s chest, feeling it rise and fall gently with every breath and listening to the steady beating of his heart. Normally she derived a great deal of comfort from the mere fact of his presence, but tonight she was unable to find peace.

_Will, what if—_

_Don’t think like that,_ Imzadi. _We’ll find her._ Will kissed her forehead and pressed his bearded face against her cheek. _We_ have _to._

Deanna looked up at him, reaching up with one hand to stroke his face. Tears filled her luminous black eyes and her voice quavered as she said, “But what if we don’t?”

******************************

Tasha and René had no idea how much time had passed since they had been taken. They had received meals from the food slot at regular intervals, but there were no further communications from the voice in the ceiling. They slept as well as they could on the cold, hard slab that they presumed was supposed to be a bed, although they spent most of their time trying to comfort and reassure each other that Titan and/or the Enterprise was on their way. 

The vibration of the warp drive had altered significantly several hours after they last spoke to their captor, and it was different enough that Tasha could not guess how fast they were going, or even if they had changed direction. All she and René could do was wait.

Just then the ship gave a violent shudder, and the vibrations abruptly ceased. “I think we’re out of warp,” said Tasha. She got to her feet and crept cautiously toward the force field, trying to see beyond the clutter of boxes outside their cell for any hint of what was occurring. Her father had taught her that Starfleet officers always looked for ways to gain the upper hand in these kinds of situations, and she was determined to find an opportunity to turn the tables on their captors. A future Starfleet officer ought to demand no less of herself, she thought.

Resounding footsteps suddenly clanged from above, getting louder as the person making them drew closer. Tasha hastily gestured to René to come nearer the force field. “When he comes,” she whispered, “we’ll get him to lower the force field, then we’ll run.”

“How?” asked René practically, if a little fearfully. “Where?”

“Just follow my—”

The owner of the footsteps turned the corner, and as he faced them Tasha gasped. It was King Joakal! Only he looked different. This man had a long scar running down the left side of his face, and his eyes and mouth held a decidedly sinister look. “Well, well, well,” he said, grinning wickedly. “You don’t look like much, but I know you’re very important to certain old friends of mine. They must be suffering greatly, not knowing where you are or if you’re even alive. Very greatly indeed.”

“Wh— who are you?” asked René, fighting valiantly to keep the tremble from his voice and failing miserably.

But Tasha had no such qualms. She had figured out who this man was, and her astonishment was momentarily overriding both her fear and her thoughts of escape. “You’re Beahoram,” she declared. “King Joakal’s evil twin!”

“Evil,” Beahoram repeated slowly, rolling the word around his tongue as if tasting it for the very first time. “Evil. What a strange word, isn’t it? Really more of a matter of perspective than anything else. One might say that what my parents did was evil, leaving me to die… worthless, forgotten, pathetic.”

“It was,” said Tasha, remembering something her mother had said about how agreeing with an antagonistic person can sometimes throw them off their guard. “It _was_ bad. Joakal wanted to help you. But you didn’t even give him a chance.”

“He took _everything_ from me!” snarled Beahoram. “My life, my crown, everything I deserved and never received, all because I had the misfortune to be born _second_. And let’s not forget the role your _dear_ mother played in all this, and _your_ father,” he continued, indicating René. “Their arrival upset all my plans, but I might still have gotten away with it, if Troi and Mother Veronica didn’t have the God’s gift. They used it to strip me of my crown, my dignity, everything I fought all my life to obtain!” 

He began to pace back and forth in front of the cell, his voice gradually growing more strident, his anger increasing. “They _humiliated_ me, leaving me broken and helpless. So that’s why you’re here today, children— to cause your dear parents the same kind of pain they caused me. I know of nothing that would hurt them more, and that’s what they deserve: to be hurt, for what they did to me. They will rue the day they ever crossed Beahoram I’lium!”

Tasha and René were momentarily stunned silent. “Mommy has a word for people like you,” said Tasha at last.

“Oh? And that would be?”

“Psychopath.”

Beahoram blinked at her, briefly taken aback. His face became curiously calm and still, which chilled Tasha to the bone and frightened her even more than his shouting and harsh tone had. She and René remained rooted to the spot as Beahoram turned off the force field and stepped into the cell, the field blinking back on automatically behind him. _So much for that idea_ , thought Tasha. _Maybe we can—_

_WHACK!_

It came out of nowhere. At first Tasha wasn’t sure what had just happened, nor how she’d ended up on the floor a good three feet further away from where she was standing. Then her left cheek began to sting, then burn. She reached a hand up to her face, then she whimpered in surprised pain as she touched her cheek. Tasha looked at Beahoram in astonishment.

“You hit me!” she exclaimed, wincing as renewed pain surged through her cheek. “Nobody’s ever hit me before.”

“How unfortunate,” said Beahoram in a level voice. “Perhaps that will teach you not to call your betters names.”

“You’re not better than anyone!” said René, temporarily forgetting his fear out of indignant outrage at what Beahoram had done to his friend. He stepped in front of her protectively. “Y- you’re nothing but a b-bitter old man!”

Beahoram raised his palm toward René and he immediately backed away, whimpering slightly as he drew closer to Tasha. Beahoram laughed maliciously. “It does feel good to have some measure of power again.” He turned slightly and made a gesture to someone behind him. A tall, burly man came forward, shutting off the force field as he did so. It did not flicker back on this time. 

“The two of you are going on a little trip,” said Beahoram as the man cuffed and bound the children to each other back to back. “Benget here and I are going to take you to some people who will pay an exorbitant price for the services you will be required to provide, and they will take you far, far away from here.” He grinned with wicked triumph. “So far away, in fact, that your dear parents won’t have any hope in hell of finding you again.”

Beahoram and Benget proceeded to shove the children into a wooden box perforated with air holes along the rim. Tasha and René felt the box being lifted and carried away, presumably off the ship and to the ‘people’ that Beahoram had mentioned.

René heard sniffling coming from his companion. It was too dark in the box to see, but he turned his head in Tasha’s direction anyway. “Are you okay?” he whispered.

“Ye— _ow_ ,” sniffed Tasha. “Yes. But it hurts.”

René shifted his body slightly in an effort to turn his head a little farther. He felt with his head where Tasha’s head was, then he leaned over and kissed Tasha’s cheek where Beahoram had hit her. “Is that better?” he asked.

“Kind of,” whispered Tasha. “Thank you. And thank you for being brave enough to stand up to him, even after he hit me.”

“You’re my friend,” whispered René, as if that explained everything.

Tasha smiled at him, then she remembered he couldn’t see her. So she leaned over and kissed his cheek in return. They huddled closer to each other as their small bodies were shaken roughly by the box’s movement. Beahoram and his goon clearly didn’t care about making the journey comfortable for the ‘cargo’ they were transporting, but they still had each other. They would find a way out of this, together.


	3. Chapter 3

Thomas Riker drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. _What’s taking them so long?_ he thought to himself irritably. Most of his bad mood could usually be attributed to the unhappy hand that fate had dealt him relative to his ‘brother’, but more recently there was the added stress of the latest mission Starfleet Intelligence had sent him on. 

After the Dominion War ended, the Federation gained several allies on the Gamma Quadrant side of the Bajoran wormhole that were formerly under the heel of the Dominion. One of them was in fact the Dominion itself, now being run by the former Constable Odo of Deep Space 9. He had requested Starfleet’s aid in dealing with a slave trafficking ring whose activity had gotten bolder in the years following the Dominion’s defeat in the Alpha Quadrant and their subsequent internal political shake-ups. Thomas had been sent ahead to infiltrate the ring, identify their leaders, and locate their primary base of operations, at which point he would notify Starfleet Intelligence and they would send in more Special Ops teams to take it down.

Today Thomas and his alleged compatriots were meeting with their latest customer in a private room on a seedy, run-down space station just outside the tail end of Dominion space. They didn’t know his name, but his representative had contacted them a couple of weeks ago claiming to have two ‘specimens’ from the Alpha Quadrant for their appraisal. Alpha Quadrant natives were a rarity in their line of work, since the quickest route between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants was the Bajoran wormhole, which had had a continuous Starfleet presence for nineteen years now. But Benget had informed them that he’d hired a ship equipped with a transwarp drive, so they would be able to arrive relatively quickly in the Gamma Quadrant while still avoiding the wormhole. They were due any minute, and Thomas was impatient mainly because today he would be part of the group taking the new children to the main processing and distribution center. Hopefully by the end of the day he would have cause to call in the cavalry and disband the whole organization. He was eager for this particular mission to be over; it disgusted him to see such injustices being perpetrated against innocent children.

“There he is,” declared one of his companions. Thomas looked up to see Benget and another man carrying a wooden box. This other man had a tall, haggard appearance, with long, graying brown hair tied back in a ponytail and a scraggly salt-and-pepper beard. His eyes had a decidedly sinister cast to them, and Thomas decided immediately that this was not his kind of guy.

Benget and his master set the box down roughly, then they sat down across from Thomas and Co. “This is my liege-lord, the rightful King of Capulon IV, Beahoram I’lium.”

Thomas frowned in puzzlement. _Capulon IV… now why does that sound— oh. Right._ After he’d been rescued from Nervala IV, he and Deanna had been talking in Ten-Forward, and she had told him a story about one of the Enterprise-D’s missions from the previous year. They were supposed to welcome a new planet into the Federation, but at the last minute their king’s evil twin had tried to hijack the throne and derail all of his carefully laid plans for a brighter future for his world. But Deanna had been able to stop him, with the help of a telepathic nun named Mother Veronica. The king’s evil twin was banished from Capulon IV and had not been heard from since… until today.

_So this is what happened to him,_ Thomas thought. _How sad. I was the lesser of two twins too, but you don’t see_ me _turning to the dark side like that. I never tried to kill my brother, either. I_ did _try to steal the love of his life from him… but in my defense, she was mine too. We were the same person at one point, after all._

“Fancy title,” scoffed the reptilian seated to Riker’s left. “Do you have them?”

“In here,” said Beahoram, rapping the lid of the box with his knuckles. He and Benget pried the lid open, and they reached inside and roughly hoisted out two small children, plunking them on the table. “One boy and one girl. The boy is human, and the girl is mostly human with some Betazoid blood. There’s a good chance she’ll develop some empathic talent around puberty, which isn’t the only thing she’ll be developing, if her mother’s any indication of what she’ll look like.”

Unkind laughter echoed around the room as Beahoram spun the bound and handcuffed pair of kids around so that the girl was facing their prospective buyers. 

The first thing Thomas noticed was a prominent purple bruise on her left cheek. The second thing he noticed was that she bore a striking resemblance to a certain someone from his past. She met Riker’s gaze, and her black eyes widened. “Daddy?!”

“What?” several voices exclaimed, Riker’s among them. He hadn’t felt this much astonishment since that day on Nervala IV when he’d walked into the control room and seen himself of all people looking back at him. _How can this— oh no._

Thomas had never met his niece, but this girl looked to be the right age, and it didn’t take a genius to understand what Beahoram had been implying with his comments earlier. _Oh boy. Admiral Batanides is going to kill me for this._

Before any of the others could react further, he scooped up the two small children and sprinted out of the room and down the hall like the ancient Terran cinematographic hero Indiana Jones running from the big rock, Beahoram and Co. in his wake.

******************************

“Stop that man!” Beahoram’s voice rang out behind them as Thomas ran through the station. He was taking an indirect route to the small getaway flyer his SI handlers had reserved for strictly emergency use (Batanides might think Thomas had unnecessarily instigated the emergency, but frankly Thomas couldn’t give a rat’s fuck about her opinion). His fifty-three-year-old knees were not happy with the strain he was putting them under, and he made a mental note to get them looked at as soon as he got back to the Alpha Quadrant.

Meanwhile Tasha had gotten a better look at their rescuer, and she realized that there were significant differences between him and her father. This man had a long scar running down the left side of his face, and his beard had a slightly different arrangement. Those differences could have been simple cosmetic alterations as part of an alias or cover, but no cosmetic alteration could have produced the decidedly melancholy look in those eyes. Her father’s eyes were always twinkling with good humor, lending his face a cheerful aspect. This man had not led quite such a charmed life. Tasha could only draw one conclusion.

“You’re not Daddy,” she declared.

“No, I’m not,” panted Thomas, “and I’d love to explain further, but not right now. Maybe later when we’re not running for our lives.”

He made a sharp left turn into a narrow side corridor, adjusting his grip on the children as he went. He looked down at the red-haired boy tied with Tasha. “Who are you, then?”

“I’m René.”

“Nice to meet you, René— wait. Picard?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.”

They emerged from the corridor into a bustling central terminal with multiple secondary corridors branching off of it. Riker identified the one leading to his getaway flyer and made a beeline for it, praying to God he’d been able to shake his pursuers—

“Halt!” Suddenly there were two baton-wielding security guards in front of him. Riker skidded to a stop and hastily changed direction, but then he saw Beahoram and Co. emerging from a different corridor than the one he’d taken. They spread out to make a wide circle around him, which quickly narrowed, blocking all paths of escape.

“What is the meaning of this?” one of the security guards inquired of Riker imperiously.

“Officer,” Beahoram interrupted, “This man is trying to kidnap my children! Arrest him!”

“What? No, I’m not kidnapping them,” argued Riker. “I’m rescuing them! _You_ kidnapped them. This is my daughter and a family friend” he said to the security guard. “You can do a paternity test if you don’t believe me.”

“But you’re not my daddy,” Tasha whispered into his ear.

“Shush,” Riker whispered back. “This’ll work, trust me.”

“Very well,” the guard said. “All of you, come with us.”

“Wait a minute,” said Beahoram hastily. He of course had no knowledge of Thomas’s existence, and the one time he’d been in the same room as Will Riker twenty years ago wasn’t even worth mentioning, since at the time there was a lot going on all at once and he had been too focused on Joakal to notice much else. He would have thought Thomas was bluffing, but the child had been the one to recognize him first. He couldn’t take the chance that Starfleet had somehow tracked the children here already. “There’s no need for this. Who are you going to believe? This strange man running through the station holding two handcuffed children? Or I, a concerned father who only wants to see his kids returned safely?”

“We will believe the results of the paternity test,” the other guard said firmly.

Beahoram nodded slowly. “Okay, in that case—” abruptly he tackled one of the guards to the ground, Benget taking the other. The remaining men were a few seconds slow to realize what was going on, and Riker took advantage of the momentary distraction to break through the gap the Capulonii men had created, sprinting down the corridor to where his flyer was docked. “Computer, engage autopilot and set course for the wormhole,” Riker shouted as he ran to the cockpit, the airlock automatically slamming shut behind him. “Full impulse until we’re 500 kilometers from the station, then maximum warp!”

_“Setting course. Executing now.”_

Thomas deposited René and Tasha in the copilot’s seat, then he collapsed into the pilot’s chair, keeping careful watch on his instruments. He didn’t let out the breath he was holding until the ship at last kicked into warp. He sighed with relief, leaning back into his chair and finally allowing himself to relax.

The sound of throat-clearing to his right reminded him that he couldn’t relax just yet. He looked over to see Tasha scowling at him. “Aren’t you going to untie us and explain yourself, you… you _father impersonator?_ ”

******************************

Meanwhile in the Sigma Delphini system, the Titan had followed the mystery ship’s trail to the Blanchard asteroid belt, where it had abruptly disappeared. Science Officer Pazlar had discovered the aftereffects of a transwarp signal, which unfortunately was their last clue as to where the ship had gone. It was impossible to track a ship through transwarp without some clue as to their destination, so the Titan had initiated a spiral search pattern spreading outward from the vessel’s last known location. They were no closer to knowing where it went, but Joakal had had a new insight as to who was responsible.

_“I’ve been thinking about what Commander Worf said about motive,”_ he said on the Titan’s viewscreen, which was split between his face and the Enterprise’s bridge. _“I’ve also been thinking about the nightmares that plagued my sleep and kept me awake in the nights preceding your arrival. No one had heard anything from my brother since he chose banishment from our world twenty years ago, but I can think of no one else who holds more hatred in his heart for Us and Ours, or would even consider doing something so atrocious. I’m so sorry, Admiral Riker, Commander Troi, Captain Picard, Doctor Crusher. I should have done more to keep track of my brother’s whereabouts. If I had tried harder to reach him, made more of an effort to—”_

“You couldn’t possibly have made more of an effort,” said Troi, her voice thick with emotion. “I was there. He was simply unreachable. His mind was far too twisted by hatred for anything resembling reason or common sense to penetrate it.”

Picard nodded in firm agreement. _“You are not at fault here, Joakal. You have no reason to feel guilty.”_

_“Even so,”_ said Joakal. _“I feel responsible for—”_

A shrill beeping interrupted the King mid-sentence. “Sirs,” said Tuvok, “we are receiving a recorded subspace message from Deep Space 9, which itself is forwarding the message from somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant. The Enterprise appears to be receiving this message as well.”

_“Affirmative,”_ said Šmrhová.

“Well, let’s hear it,” said Admiral Riker. “Put it on screen.”

The images of King Joakal and the bridge of the Enterprise were minimized into a small corner of the screen, and were replaced by quite literally the last thing any of them expected.

Three familiar faces looked back at them from across the stars. _“This message is for the Starfleet ships Enterprise-E and Titan,”_ said Thomas Riker. _“I wanted to let you know that Natasha and René have been safely recovered, and that we are on our way to Deep Space 9, ETA ten days. They were kidnapped by Beahoram I’lium, and the last time we saw him he was in a physical altercation with some security guards on Station Thelgrix in the Gamma Quadrant. I’ve already recommended to Captain Ro on DS9 that Starfleet security be send to apprehend him, and she tells me they’re on their way.”_ He paused. _“So I guess we’ll rendezvous at DS9 then.”_ He looked down at the children. _“Is there anything you guys wanna say?”_

_“Hi Mommy, hi Daddy!!”_ René and Tasha shouted, waving excitedly. _“I don’t think it was very nice of you to keep Uncle Thomas a secret,”_ added Tasha, frowning.

_“Uh, well, I’m sure they didn’t mean to, sweetheart,”_ said Thomas, the tips of his ears turning slightly pink. He looked back at the screen. _“Okay, I guess that’s it, then. See you soon. Riker out.”_

_“Bye!!”_ shouted the children, waving enthusiastically at the screen once more. Then the screen went black, replaced moments later by the joint images of Joakal and Picard’s bridge.

Everyone looked around at one another in stunned silence, as if they were afraid that to speak would be to reveal what they had just witnessed to be an illusion, and to shatter it. Then the cheering started. 

Riker and Troi gripped one another in a fervent embrace, tears and laughter commingling as they held each other close. On the viewscreen, Picard and Crusher were doing the same thing, engaging in thoroughly unprofessional public displays of emotion and not caring in the least. _“I told you,”_ Beverly kept saying as she kissed her husband’s face. _“I told you he’d be all right.”_

Seeing that his commanding officer was momentarily out of commission, Commander Worf ordered the helm to set course for Deep Space 9. Captain Vale did the same, and they both bid farewell to King Joakal on behalf of their superior officers before taking their ships to warp.


	4. Chapter 4

After Thomas undid Tasha and René’s bonds, he explained to them his origins. They were a lively and curious audience, constantly interrupting his story with questions concerning the technical aspects of transporter duplication. He answered them as best he could, not being a technical man himself, then he set about making arrangements for their safe return. First he called ahead to Deep Space 9 to inform them of his pending arrival, then he recorded a message for them to send on to the Enterprise-E and the Titan. Next he used a secure frequency to contact Starfleet Intelligence regarding his bungled mission, and had a most unpleasant conversation with Admiral Batanides. Finally, he arranged sleeping quarters for the children to get some rest. René was out as soon as his head hit the pillow, but Tasha refused to go to sleep until her uncle told her a story.

“Daddy always reads me a story before I go to sleep.”

“Well, I’m not your daddy.”

“You keep saying that, but you can’t be _that_ different from him if you were once the same person, right?”

“We’ve led very different lives for the past two and a half decades, sweetheart. Don’t be fooled by how much I look like him. We’re totally different people now.”

Tasha fell silent, as if in quiet contemplation. Thinking the mini-inquisition was at last over, he started to get up. But before he could dim the lights, Tasha spoke again.

“Why are you afraid of me?”

Startled, Thomas looked down at his niece. “What? I’m not afraid of you. Why would you say that?”

“You’re afraid of _something_. And you won’t do anything to show that you’re more than just a stranger to me. Why?”

Thomas hesitated. He hadn’t seen Deanna since that whole debacle with the Romulans seventeen years ago, in which he’d allowed himself to be manipulated by Sela into participating in her kidnapping of Deanna and Alexander Rozhenko, and used in her attempt to unleash a biological weapon on Qo’noS, but he’d last seen his brother just a few short years ago, while he was part of an SI black ops team investigating the assassination of President Bacco. Will had offered to make introductions, but Thomas had told him he wasn’t ready to meet his niece or see Deanna again just yet. He’d given his brother some bullshit about ‘maybe after this mess is over’, but he could tell Will didn’t believe him. He hadn’t believed himself either. The fact of the matter was, there was just too much history there, too much pain. And if he couldn’t fully face it himself, then there was absolutely no way he was equipped to explain it to a six-year-old.

“Um… well, it’s kind of complica—”

“No!” Tasha sat up and gave him the fiercest glare she could muster, which on her delicate little face was nothing short of adorable. Yet Thomas found himself rooted to the spot by her gaze as she continued, “Don’t say ‘it’s complicated’. I don’t want to hear any more grownup excuses. You explain yourself this instant!”

Thomas’s eyes widened as he listened to his niece’s tirade. He felt something soften inside him. “You know, you look just like your mother when she gets angry?”

Tasha frowned, out of puzzlement rather than anger this time. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mommy get angry. Has she ever gotten angry at you?”

“Sure she has. We used to date on Betazed, you know, before the accident that split me and my brother into two people. We came from pretty different backgrounds, and we had some trouble getting on the same page at first.”

As Tasha listened to her uncle reminisce about his glory days on Betazed, an epiphany struck her. She locked eyes with Thomas. “You’re still in love with Mommy, aren’t you?”

Thomas sighed. “She’s not exactly the kind of person you just fall _out_ of love with. And what’s worse, your father and I were both on the Enterprise-D right after I was rescued. She could just as easily have picked _me_ , and then _I_ would be your father.”

“Is that part of the reason Mommy and Daddy never told me about you?”

“I’m sure they planned to tell you eventually, sweetheart. It’s just that I’m not exactly the easiest subject to broach. I don’t think it helped that I never bothered to try to keep in touch, either. They probably didn’t want to get your hopes up waiting around for an uncle who was never going to show up.”

Silence fell between them. Tasha looked up at her uncle for a long moment, then she got to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him as tightly as she could. Almost instinctively, he embraced her in return, holding her little body against his.

“You know, it’s not such a bad thing to be an uncle,” Tasha said. “Uncle Barin says that he gets to have all of the fun and none of the responsibility.”

Thomas laughed out loud. “All play, no work, eh? Well, that’s something.”

Tasha pulled away and looked up at him. “You have to promise me something. And I mean a _real_ promise. Pinky swear and everything.”

“Pinky swear?”

“You hook your pinky around mine, like this.” Tasha demonstrated with both her pinkies, then she unhooked them, putting one arm on her uncle’s shoulder while holding her other pinky out. “Are you ready to promise?”

Thomas held out his own pinky, mirroring Tasha’s posture. “Almost. You still haven’t told me what I’m promising.”

Tasha nodded solemnly. “You have to promise to stop hiding and be part of the family.”

Thomas blinked. “Come again?”

“You heard me. If you’re going to be my uncle, then that means you come to family functions, including birthdays and Christmas, over subspace if you can’t in person. And I want to be able to get in touch with you if I need my uncle for any reason. I can talk to Uncle Barin on Betazed whenever I want. I expect to be able to do the same with you.”

Despite his niece’s perfectly serious tone and demeanor, Thomas had to fight to keep from smiling. She was just so much like her mother, with that same no-nonsense tone and matter-of-fact bearing. _All right, then. Maybe being a fun uncle won’t be such a bad gig after all._ He reached out his pinky and hooked it around Tasha’s. “I promise.”

“Promise what?”

This time he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “I promise to stop hiding and be part of the family.” 

“Good,” said Tasha. She settled back into her pillows. “Can I fly the ship tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t know how.”

“So teach me how.”

Thomas tried and failed to find a way to argue with that. “Fine. First thing tomorrow.”

“Yay!”

******************************  
_Two weeks later_

René and Tasha fidgeted around Thomas’s legs. “What’s taking them so long?” René whined.

“They’re coming from almost the other side of the quadrant, remember?” said Thomas as he ruffled the boy’s hair. “They’ve got a longer journey than we did.”

“Captain Ro _said_ they’d be here today,” insisted Tasha.

“And they will,” Thomas reassured her. “Just be patient.”

Just then Tasha felt a familiar presence brush against her mind. At the same time, Captain Ro’s voice sounded from the overhead speakers. _“Ro to Riker. The Enterprise-E and Titan will be arriving at docking ports A and B in fifteen minutes.”_

“Acknowledged,” said Riker. “Riker ou— hey, wait for me!”

But Tasha and René were already sprinting ahead to meet their parents. Thomas sighed and ran after them. “My knees just aren’t going to get a break, are they?” he muttered to himself.

******************************

No sooner did the airlock doors creak open than Tasha leaped forward into her mother’s arms. Her father wrapped his arms around them both, holding them close. Beside her, René’s parents ensnared him in a similar embrace. Thomas hung back, hesitant to intrude on the family reunions.

Deanna showered her daughter with kisses as she wept tears of joy, holding her tightly against her chest. She heard sniffling and felt Tasha’s tears against her neck. Reaching out with her thumb, she gently wiped the tears away. “It’s okay, little one,” she whispered, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “You’re safe now. It’s alright.”

“I was really scared,” sniffed Tasha. “But René helped me. I think I would’ve been more scared if I was alone.” Deanna kissed her daughter’s face again and held her close. “I’m so glad you’re safe, baby."

Will looked over the top of his wife’s head and met his brother’s gaze. “Thank you,” he said simply.

Watching the family’s emotional reunion, Thomas couldn’t help but feel a slight wisp of envy. But it was quickly overpowered by an overriding sense of… _satisfaction_. He had done something right, and it felt good.

“In case you weren’t already aware,” Picard said to Thomas, “Starfleet security has arrested Beahoram and his co-conspirators. The security personnel of Station Thelgrix were more than willing to turn them over to us for extradition. They won’t be giving anyone any more trouble.”

“Good.” Thomas nodded in satisfaction. “I’m surprised that thug was allowed to roam free in the first place.”

“He was punished according to the laws of Capulon IV,” said Deanna. “Perhaps it was a mistake to not keep tabs on him, but that’s a mistake we won’t be making again.”

Thomas looked into the face of his former lover. Much to his surprise, it wasn’t as painful as he’d expected. He still thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life, but somehow it wasn’t as important now that _he_ have her. Somewhere along the way, her happiness had become more important to him than his own. And she _was_ happy now, with Will and Tasha. That was plain as day, and Thomas silently made a vow to himself that he would do everything he could to keep this family together. If that meant embracing the ‘fun uncle’ role, then so be it.

“Tasha tells me her birthday is in two months,” he said. “Do you know where you’re going to be then?”

Deanna’s eyes widened in surprise. “You want to visit?”

“I realize I haven’t made much of an effort to keep in touch,’ said Thomas ruefully. “Maybe if I had, I would’ve been part of Tasha’s life sooner. But I’d like to be part of her life now, if that’s alright.”

Deanna and Will exchanged glances, then they looked back at Thomas, smiling. “Of course,” Will said. “You were always welcome.”

“Besides,” added Tasha, “you have to keep your promise.”

“Promise?” Will and Deanna’s voices inquired in unison.

Thomas sighed with embarrassment as he looked down at his shoes. “She made me promise to, and I quote, ‘stop hiding and be part of the family’.”

Will and Deanna burst out laughing, as did Picard and Beverly. “That sounds like Tasha all right,” said Deanna, giving her daughter another hug and a kiss on the top of her head. “We’ll let you know where we’re going to be as soon as we find out. And we’d better see you there.”

“Don’t worry,” said Thomas, smiling. “Far be it from me to violate a pinky swear.”


	5. Epilogue

_Two months later_

“He _said_ he was coming,” insisted Tasha.

“Be patient, little one,” said her mother. “I’m sure he’s on his way.”

The Titan was docked at Starbase 375, having booked a holosuite for Tasha’s seventh birthday celebration. The Enterprise had also arrived for the festivities, since Tasha had strongly requested René’s presence at her party, having bonded a great deal with him during their mutual captivity. Admiral Riker had sent word to his brother notifying him of the date and time, and he had sent back an RSVP telling them to expect him. But they had not heard anything since, and Tasha was starting to get worried.

“He’s probably just trying to make a dramatic last-minute entrance,” said Will. “I would, if I were trying to be a fun uncle.”

As if on cue, the holosuite doors opened wide and in strolled Thomas Riker, as casual and nonchalant as if he hadn’t been making them wait for the past few hours. “Where’s the birthday girl?”

“Uncle Thomas!” squealed Tasha excitedly, running over to her uncle and colliding with his legs. He grunted as the wind was knocked out of him, then he picked her up and swung her around, laughing. “How’s my favorite niece?”

“I’m your only niece,” said Tasha, giggling hysterically.

“Then you have to be my favorite, don’t you?” Thomas perched Tasha upon his shoulders as she continued giggling. He strolled over to where her parents were standing. “This is a pretty elaborate party for a seven-year-old.”

“We went to great lengths to make it memorable, considering recent events,” said Deanna. “Mother wanted to be here, but Barin’s come down with a flu. They both send their love.”

“Did you bring me a present?” interrupted Tasha, swiveling around until she was nose-to-nose with her uncle.

“Indeed I did,” said Thomas, his eyes twinkling. He set Tasha down before crouching at her eye level, then he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a holo-disk. “This is a program I designed based on the ship I tried to teach you how to fly two months ago. I couldn’t use the exact same design, since it’s technically classified information, but the ship in the simulation is modular, and you can swap in and out different components to create a completely different flying experience. The program is also adaptive, designed to learn as you learn and adjust its challenges accordingly. I don’t mean to brag, but this is far superior to any of the flight simulations you’ll find in Titan’s computer banks or at Starfleet Academy. You’ll become an ace pilot in no time.”

Tasha’s eyes sparkled with delight, and her grin was wider than the Opal Sea. She kissed her uncle on the cheek and squeezed him in a fierce embrace, then ran off to find René with her new program in tow. “René! René! Look what I got!” She chattered excitedly to her friend as the adults looked on with tender pride.

“I think you’ve won Uncle of the Year,” said Will with amusement.

Thomas shrugged, mildly embarrassed by all the attention his gift was getting. “She’s not exactly hard to shop for.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” said Deanna. “You went to a lot of trouble to make that. We didn’t expect anything less from Tasha’s ‘fun uncle’.”

Thomas groaned. “Oh, god. I’m going to have to try to top this next year, aren’t I?”

“You’ll have to match it at the very least,” Will said, his eyes twinkling. “And don’t forget, Christmas comes even earlier.”

Deanna laughed at the look of consternation that appeared on Thomas’s face. “Don’t worry, Tom. Half the points you earn are just from showing up.”

“Well, that’s something, at least.”

Just then Tasha ran back over to them with René in tow. “Mommy, Daddy, can René and I go play Uncle Thomas’s program in another holosuite?”

“Of course,” said Will. “On one condition: we get to come with you. I’m kind of curious to see this program myself. Maybe I can even take a shot at it, if you’ll let me.”

Tasha frowned with mock reluctance. “I’ll have to think about it. It’s _my_ present, after all.”

She hugged her father’s legs, then turned and raced for the holosuite entrance. “First one there gets to be the first pilot!” René ran after her, his short legs pumping furiously, the rest of her family following close behind.


End file.
